Israel, Finland and Sweden led the way with a rank of four and a half stars out of five whilst Mexico languished behind in last place with a total of two stars out of five.

The main focal points that the rankings were based on consisted of the country having sufficient firewalls and antivirus protection and factors such as the level of education on cyber-security.

The Defence Agenda think tank team based there rankings on the perceived quality of cyber-readiness which is seen as a massive positive of conducting the research. Raj Samani, McAfee’s chief technology officer stated “The subjectiveness of the report is its biggest strength. What it does is give the perception of cyber-readiness by those individuals who kind of understand and work in cyber security on a day-in, day-out basis.”

So far Israel has set the bench mark for cyber-defence as it is reported that the country receive over 1,000 cyber-attacks every minute but do not suffer a huge amount of disruption or damage. Isaac Ben-Israel, senior security advisor to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated “The hacktivist group Anonymous carries out lots of attacks but they don’t cause much damage. The real threat is from states and major crime organisations.” Ben-Israel also revealed that the country has set up a cyber-taskforce which assesses the threats to key infrastructure such as power and water plants.

Meanwhile, the prominent gang and drug problems in Mexico have been blamed for their poor results. It is widely regarded that such problems have forced the government to focus their efforts on improving the situation and therefore they haven’t had the time or funds to look at implementing policies to improve their cyber defence infrastructure.

The report commended the efforts made by the UK government to improve the country’s cyber defence such as an investment program which is worth £650 million. Not everyone is happy with this investment and what the money is being for. Peter Sommer who is an information security expert argued “A great deal depends on co-operation from the private sector, which controls about 80% of the critical national infrastructure. Over half of the new funding will go to the ‘secret vote’, the intelligence agencies, where value for money will be difficult to investigate. I would have preferred more emphasis on public education – helping potential victims help themselves.”

The report concluded that in order to improve cyber-defence, there needs to be better communication between countries and a willingness to share data. The report also stated that cross boarder law enforcements needs to be improved and given more power.

Samani argued “Cybercriminals route their connection through multiple different countries. If criminals are particularly clever, they go through countries where they know there isn’t any co-operation. The bad guys share information – we need to do the same as well.”

These suggestions have been constantly acknowledged as the most efficient and effective way to improve cyber defence but the feasibility of it is very unrealistic. Dr Joss Wright who is from the Oxford Internet Institute argues “They’re recommendations that people have been saying for maybe 10 years. I would love to see good information sharing but when you’re talking about national security, there’s a culture of not sharing. They’re not suddenly going to change 70, 100, 1000 years of military thinking.”

UK Rank Favourably in a Cyber-Defence Survey is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Distributors must stay relevant to solution providers as the technology landscape shifts.  The danger for distributors is that solutions providers start dealing directly with Cloud providers, and miss out the distribution middle man.

Cloud Computing is not just another fad which distributors need to slightly adjust their business model to. In the past businesses tweaked their models through charging for services they had produced for free, such as tech support.

The Cloud phenomenon is different and appears to be here to stay, leading to distributors having a bit of an identity crisis. They want to get in on the action, especially as the industry is set to become a $241 billion industry by 2020. However they are unsure where they fit into the equation.

UBM estimate that up to 38% of all IT expenditure is going to move to purchasing off-premise solutions by 2013. To meet this a third of all solution providers are aiming to change their business model within this time period.

Where distributors may not loose out so badly is within the Private Cloud space. In this market companies are buying hardware in order to produce a Cloud infrastructure behind their own corporate firewalls. IDC estimates that Private Cloud implementations will grow at an annual rate of 28.8% through to 2015.

It is the SMEs which are more likely to jump two footed into a Public Cloud solution hosted by a 3^rd party provider, producing no need for a distributor. This is the market where distributors they will loose out, and could be labelled as unnecessary purchasing mechanisms.

So what about the distributors who are supplying the Cloud providers themselves? There is a harsh irony in the way that IT distributors have supplied Cloud providers in the past few years inadvertently supplying the force that hopes to steal their sales. However distributors have no choice other than to supply the future.

For distributors the future is unsure but may not be a gloomy as some would have you believe. In the past they have proven to adapt well to changes in computing. The task now is to establish a firm identity in the Cloud space. Perhaps the safe option would be to specialise in working with companies implementing Private Cloud solutions.

How will Cloud Computing Affect IT Distribution is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

It soon became apparent that Terlesa Cowart, the court stenograph for Chavianowho’s trial, had transferred the the transcripts to her personal computer and deleted the files from the stenograph. However, Cowart’s personal computer became infected by a virus and all of the files on it were deleted, including the vital transcript notes.

Stenographers are expected to keep two records of the transcripts on both paper and digital disk. Cowart did not follow these regulations as it is believed that she didn’t bring enough rolls of paper to the court case and therefore relied on a digital copy alone.

The Miami Herald has reported that Cowart has been fired after the revelations. It was also reported that her former employer, Goldman Naccarato Patterson Vela & Associates Inc, have claimed that this hasn’t been the only occasion when she has run out of paper during a trial.

As Chavianowho is set to be given a new trial, it will only result in the family and friends of Acosta having to go through the anguish of reliving the event again because of the negligence of one person.

Ed Griffin, Miami-Dade State Attorney’s spokesman stated “The overturning of a murder conviction always means terrible pain for the victim’s family and frustration for prosecutors and police officers.”

As reported, if this wasn’t the only case where Cowart ran out of paper during a trial, there are bound to be concerns whether transcripts are still available from other trials. If it turns out that other transcripts have been lost, it may well result in more than one convicted prisoner being given a new trial.

This latest case of data loss emphasises the importance of backing up important data securely. Long gone are the days where it was satisfactory to keep one copy of an important file, especially on a computer. Hackers have become more sophisticated with their methods and important data is being put at an unnecessary risk of being lost if it hasn’t been backed up.

Data Loss Results in Convicted Murderer Getting a Re-trial is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

He came back talking about de-duplication and the fact that data was being stored on their servers rather than on the customer’s site. He then concluded by shrugging his shoulders and saying “The future is bright so give us all your data.”

For a start de-duplication is not a differentiating factor which other software is missing. Secondly the whole point of off-site backup is to get data offsite, so the second part of his answer did not make any sense. So what is the secret to companies offering unlimited storage?

The model which such companies use is that the few users which utilise a large amount of storage will be balanced out by those that use little storage.

The other part of the model which is talked about in the interview is economies of scale. The more customers which join the more storage costs fall.

So the short fall is that someone is going to place all your business data (an unlimited amount) on the cheapest hardware which they can get through bulk purchasing. Then hope that the law of averages work out so that other companies will not eat too far into their unlimited quota.

In this scenario profits rely on making hardly anything per customer but having millions of customers. However when you see this model failing for the likes of Mozy in the consumer market, it does not bode well for the business market. Mozy was one of the original pioneers in the space and unlimited storage is a great concept. However as people create an ever increasingly large digital footprint, it is simply unrealistic.

Tread carefully when considering an unlimited service, especially when it comes to protecting your business data.

Why Unlimited Backup Quotas are Unrealistic. is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The latest summer figures have identified almost 500 million internet users in China, more than any other country in the world.  Government officials have warned that further, tighter new guidelines are on their way for October 2012.

Attempts by UK Prime Minister David Cameron to place tighter controls and even shut down social media platform Twitter during the summer riots had failed.  But Chinese officials are determined to implement the new rules with growing concern about the number of people using the internet to spread lies, rumours and mobilise potentially destabilising protest movements.  Social media sites particularly worry China’s Communist leadership with the ability of users to challenge the party’s existing internet censorship tools.  In 2009, Facebook and Twitter were banned in China after their instrumental use in anti-government protests in Iran.

Since then, China has cultivated home grown alternatives believing that they would be more pliable to the government’s agenda such as Sina Weibo. Sina Weibo has 250 million users and China has increased the punishment for internet users who spread allegedly false or harmful content.  As a result, user activity on Sina Weibo has declined.

The new rules were jointly issued by the government, police and internet management office. Regulations follow the past pattern that China has always used to regulate the internet industry.  Allow new services to establish, observe their impact and then set up a regulatory structure.

(Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/63cef782-27d0-11e1-9433-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1gifFhEOw)

Stricter Data Controls in China: Microblogging is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The study, which included a comprehensive survey of 259 global Wi-Fi vendors and service providers, revealed that the mobile industry was the major contributor in the increase of Wi-Fi hotspots. Data usage from cellular devices and tablet PCs, it states, is at an all time high with mobile data traffic to reach 16.84 million terabytes by 2014.

To WBA Chairman Chris Bruce, this growth heralds in a new era of computing.”The findings show we are about to enter the golden age of public Wi-Fi, with hotspot deployments set to soar,” he said. “Fixed operators are extending broadband services beyond the home and office, and Wi-Fi is supporting busy mobile broadband networks.”

But to consulting firms like Errata Security, this explosion in data traffic is worrisome in an age where people are using their smart phones in public Wi-Fi locations to access sensitive data, such as bank accounts, credit card purchases, and personal emails.

Robert Graham, CEO of Errata Security says most public Wi-Fi service providers don’t require encryption of data that travels between a personal device and the Internet.

“If you’re using Wi-Fi in a public place and you’re not getting hacked, it’s only because there’s nobody around bothering to do it,” said Graham.

One of the biggest security concerns is “Wi-Fi eavesdropping,” the monitoring of one’s online activities. Anyone can eavesdrop; all they have to do is download a free Wi-Fi monitoring program, such as Firesheep or SniffPass.

“An eavesdropper can sit up to 100 feet away and monitor what you do on the Net,” says Rick Farina, security engineer for wireless security firm AirTight Networks.

In recent years, more websites and Wi-Fi service providers have been encrypting their data, making it more difficult for hackers to obtain personal information. But, Farina still estimates that 95% of data traffic on Wi-Fi servers is unencrypted. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo, for example, still do not use SSL encryption.

This leaves hackers open to deleting contacts, sensitive documents, apps, music and video files on millions of users’ personal devices.

Eric Geier, founder of consultant NoWiresSecurity, suggests on esecurityplanet.com that Wi-Fi hotspot users regularly back up their mobile device’s data and set a lock-screen or password in addition to checking the security-encryption features.

According to a Cisco study on the global workplace, there has also been an increase in the mobile workforce in recent years – more employees than ever are filing their reports and conducting their meetings in public hotspots via smart phone, laptop, or tablet PC. In fact, according to the study, three out of five workers say they don’t need to be in the office to be productive.

This means that more sensitive data is being stored and transferred on these vulnerable mobile devices, and could potentially cause serious security risks. Companies that insist on conducting business via smart phone or laptop are advised to back their data up immediately, or replicate to a data center where their files will be properly protected.

Eric Geier says telecommuters and people who use Wi-Fi hotspots for work need to be especially careful.  “The more you do on your mobile device, the more you should be concerned about its security,” he says.

Wi-Fi Hotspots Expected to Grow 350% by 2015, and with it, Security Risks is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

The report highlighted the lax attitude which is being adopted by councils with regards to keeping data secure.

There are 1,035 cases of UK councils experiencing data loss between 2008 and 2011. Of particular concern in the report was the exposure of data relating to children, as well as other vulnerable members of society.

One incident in Wales involved Cardiff council wrongly sending the names and addresses of 2,400 children, on the child protection registry, directly to the NHS.

Kent and Buckinghamshire were among the councils which lost the most data, with 72 cases each. Just below them, Northamptonshire and Essex had 48 and 62 cases respectively.

Wales are arguably the worst in the UK at keeping data secure however, with 8 out of 22 councils experiencing data loss in the last three years. This prompted Anne Jones at the ICO in Wales to express “serious concern.”

“It’s vital that local authorities properly live up to their legal responsibilities to keep personal data secure, particularly where it is sensitive information about children and young people” said Jones.

Data loss is becoming increasingly more concerning with more users utilising an ever-increasing array of mobile devices. There is often no remote deletion policy in place for such hardware. In addition with many organisations pushing more of their infrastructure into the Cloud, the urgency to implement tighter security measures has never been more crucial.

Concerning Lack of Data Security Among UK Councils is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Adobe’s advisory commented on this and stated that the weakness in the applications is “being actively exploited in limited, targeted attacks in the wild.”

So far, hackers have only targeted computers which use the Microsoft Windows operating system and Reader 9.x. However, other versions of these applications are also vulnerable to attack.

Abode has already taken emergency measures in an attempt to improve the security measures and aim to release an update by the end of next week. These updates will only be for the Reader 9.x and Acrobat 9.x versions.

Abode is taking its time to release the important updates for other versions and it is expected that they will release updates for Reader X and Acrobat X and other versions that run on the UNIX and OS X operating systems on January 10^th. Brad Arkin, Adobe’s senior director of product security and privacy, has revealed that there is no need to rush with the other updates. He claimed that a security sandbox that has been built into Reader X has thwarted attacks and the versions that have been written for the operating systems, other than Microsoft Windows have not been targeted.

In a blog post, Arkin publicised the reason for staggering the release of the updates. He stated “Focusing this release on just Adobe Reader and Acrobat 9.x for Windows also allows us to ship the update much earlier. We are conscious of the upcoming holidays and are working to get this patch out as soon as possible to allow time to deploy the update before users and staff begin time off. Ultimately the decision comes down to what we can do to best mitigate threats to our customers.”

It is generally considered that Abode’s efforts to improve the security of its software over the last year have been worthwhile as significant steps forward have been taken. The implementation of the sandbox to the version of Reader is generally seen as one of the most important factors which have helped to improve the security of the software. Another key factor is the speed that the Abode team responds to security issues that arise and release a patch to make the application more secure.

Despite these improvements, Abode still have some way to go as some versions of the application are still being targeted and exploited by hackers. It has been recommended that users switch to a version that hasn’t been targeted as much and those who need the software on a Windows operating system should switch to Reader X.

Abode Tighten up Software Security is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

Many companies are now swaying much more heavily towards renting data centre space. This has become especially apparent during the downturn of the economy, between 2009-10. Many sectors have not opted to commit funds to construction within this period, according to Ted Chamberlin, research director at Gartner.

This is because leasing allows much more flexibility in terms of expansion and avoids heavy initial investments. If a company experiences a heavy increase in traffic they can tap into a third party provider’s extra resources.

The main concern with building your own data centre is planning for future capacity. If a company expands quickly and owns its own premises there is the potential of facing hefty bills for maintenance, equipment or revamping.

Upgrading your own facilities on a regular basis is a huge job and can often present you with the same or larger costs than the initial build.

However not all the factors are stacked against having your own infrastructure. There is the issue of politics. The US Patriot Act for instance gives the American government the right to delve into any data stored on its shores, a huge detractor for many European businesses. Furthermore there is the UK Data protection Act which places red tape around moving data out of the EU.

Another issue is security. With your own infrastructure there is less danger of  someone gaining access to your data. Third party providers have also been  known to place pressures on customers to move out, to make room for larger customers. It is therefore essential that companies have iron-clad contracts in place, when utilising data centre space.

In conclusion there are advantages and disadvantages for both building data centres and leasing them. Many companies are now adopting a combination of both options. Often this is structured in a way which allows less important aspects of a company’s infrastructure to be outsourced, while retaining the more essential data within a purpose built infrastructure.

Approaching the Data Centre Market is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.

As the number of cybercrime attacks that have been reported has increased dramatically within the last decade; having an effective cyber security strategy in place has become more important. Hackers have become more sophisticated with their methods which have magnified the weaknesses in company’s cyber security infrastructure. They have successfully targeted businesses of all sizes, from multinational corporations to small and medium sized enterprises. The new cyber security strategy builds on what has been learnt from the 2009 strategy and will help to improve Whitehall’s understanding of cybercrime, and how it is best to protect British businesses.

If the main objectives of this strategy are to be met, it is vital that a close working partnership between the public and private sectors is established. This has been acknowledged in a report released by Chatham House which emphasises the need for key decision makers to be willing to cooperate with each other, and to be aware of the threats that they are facing.

Another key challenge that the government faces is establishing the correct balance between implementing more vigorous regulations and standards whilst encouraging entrepreneurs and businesses from around the world to start trading in the UK.

Whitehall have recognised the main problems that they face and have already started to trial potential solutions to see how well they can be implemented, and how effective they could be. A new initiative that is set to be trialled for a three month period will cover the following business sectors: Defence, finance, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals and energy.

This new initiative will aim to exchange “actionable information on cyber threats, analyse new trends and strengthen and link up collective cyber security capabilities.” This strategy has been designed to support other independent strategies that have already been implemented and seen as a success. Such strategies include Get Safe Online which attempts to raise awareness of internet safety issues, and Cyber Security Challenge UK which aims to attract more talented people into the Cyber Security Profession.

One of the main initiatives of the cyber security strategy is to set up a “national cyber-crime capability as part of the new National Crime Agency by 2013.” Another key initiative is to create a “single reporting system for citizens and small businesses to report cyber-crime” by the end of 2011.

The new cyber security strategy is an improvement from the previous one that was released in 2009 and demonstrates a more forward thinking approach in helping to protect businesses operating in the UK.

2011 Cyber Security Strategy Released is a post from Backup Technology's Blog. Contact us today for further information on our Online Backup and Business Continuity services.